CEC 20 Asks For More Oversight On Education Funding

Yesterday, the Community Education Council (CEC) for School District 20 in Bensonhurst voted unanimously to censure the NYC Department of Education (DOE) for its failure to reduce class sizes as part of an agreement in which it received state funds in exchange for doing so.

The CEC also unanimously decided to request both the City Council and State Education Department oversee and help enforce the city DOE’s future compliance with the program, known as Contracts for Excellence (C4E).

Citing a court case where a judge declared New York City public school students were deprived of their constitutional right to a higher education due to crowded classrooms, as well as what they see as an open disregard for state education law, the CEC is asking city council members to conduct yearly hearings to “review the NYC DOE’s compliance with the Contract for Excellence Law.”

The education council is also suggesting that state education officials require the DOE to use “all available funds to hire more teachers and reduce class size.” They include the $504 million received by the city in C4E subsidies this year in their request to begin cutting class sizes.